Referral selling is when a consumer is persuaded to buy goods or services with the promise of a rebate, commission or other benefit in exchange for supplying information that helps the business sell to other consumers. Promising future commissions or rebates that depend on other events is illegal in certain circumstances.

It’s not referral selling for a supplier to promise a benefit for simply providing the names of consumers or helping the trader supply goods.

The maximum civil and criminal penalties for referral selling are $1.1 million for a body corporate and $220,000 for an individual.